Onward and upward.

Re-Brand

ON3P Ski Co., Portland, ORE.

ON3P Skis is a handmade ski brand based out of Portland, Oregon. The brand focuses on no-frills craftsmanship, with the primary focus being on the selection of materials based on durability and quality.

Founded by Scott Andrus in Tacoma, Washington, in a garage in 2005, ON3P has since expanded into an 8000 square foot factory in NE Portland. Although the location and production numbers have changed, the construction and focus on durability haven’t. The idea to press a small number of skis for himself and his friends was nearly two years old by the time the first pair of skis came out of the press. Based on the standards of quality control that the skis are put up against today, the first pairs were rough. But, they didn’t fall apart. Better yet: they skied well. After two years, the first pair of skis was validation enough to keep going.
The factory is staffed by a small crew of skiers. None of them were business majors. They aren’t a marketing team that sells product with a logo on it that they have built for them in China, like most of the rest of the ski industry. ON3P believes that in order to call it their product, they have to build it themselves.

The targeted market for the skis does not fall between a specific age range, income level, or region of the country; instead, it can be defined very simply. The targeted market is those people, man or woman, who would define themselves in some way as “skiers”. It is a part of the person they consider themselves to be. ON3P does not build skis that are for the rental audience, nor for the once-a-winter recreational skier. They build skis for people who dwell in the mountains, even when they can only be there in spirit.

The logo needed to be simple – a touchstone test was the ease of “drawing the logo in the margins of your textbook / homework / meeting agenda”.

A lot of visual equity had been established with the ‘3’ logo that was being used before the branding effort was ever made, which was unfortunately nothing more than the stock numeral from the free typeface “freshbot”. Those shapes were taken into consideration while developing the new symbol.

The three shapes are placed at 60 degrees, with the curves and points reminiscent of a ridgeline and series of peaks where the skis might be used. The outline of the symbol references the framing of a photograph, with the diagonal shapes represented as negative space within that frame.

The logotype is based on Klavika. Several letterforms had to be redrawn in order to create a harmony between the logotype and the symbol.

Because of the heavy focus on the art created for the topsheets of the skis themselves, the brand guidelines were created to be extremely simple. The type and other branding would “frame” and therefore help to justify the complex and noisy graphics. Additionally, all type and paper choices were made while considering ON3P’s straightforward approach to their product, factory, and business. The nature of the typefaces, as well as the layout and setting considerations remind of the utilitarian graphics of industrial America.
Klavika was chosen as the typeface that would be used for headlines and important text. DIN was chosen for body text. The business cards, letterhead, and envelopes are printed on French papers. A combination of offset and stamping was used for printing the stationary package.

Brand Launch Photography

Cotopaxi

At the end of April and beginning of May 2014, Space Race was approached to plan a trip and travel to Arizona to shoot promotional photography for the launch of Cotopaxi, a new outdoor gear brand from Salt Lake City, Utah. The trip was the only chance to generate imagery for the launch of the brand later that month. In July of 2014, Cotopaxi given a 3 million dollar seed from 8 investors, and a year later were able to raise a 6.5 million Series A round – breaking the stigma of the viability of the B-Corp designation. Our work was instrumental in presenting a brand that was worthy of this level of investment.

Each piece of Cotopaxi gear is tied to a humanitarian cause in one of the poorest regions of the world. In an effort to be transparent, Cotopaxi makes very clear where the proceeds from each piece of gear sold go, as well as the effect that they have on the lives of the people there. They are one of few companies designated as a Benefit Corporation – otherwise known as a “B-Corp” – a for-profit corporate entity that includes positive impact on society, workers, the community and the environment in addition to profit as legally defined goals.

To learn more and check out the gear, visit their website here: www.cotopaxi.com

Apparel Graphic Work

Various Clients

Clothing Graphics created for various clients, 2010 – 2017

Ski Topsheet Graphics

ON3P Ski Co., Portland, ORE.

A large part of the work that Lunar / Solar Creative has done over our tenure as the primary creative force of ON3P Ski Company has been specifically related to the topsheets of the skis themselves.

The target demographic of ON3P skis has always appreciated and responded favorably to a yearly renewal of the entire line. ON3P has always placed great value on going the extra mile to create provocative topsheets, where most competitors turn to color blocking and simple patterning for much of their line.

Unlike other brands, the specific models in the ON3P line are not changed every couple of years; the names are assigned to different models of ski that are meant for specific conditions, and the name will be used for as long as that product category exists (or until the name is changed in order to give a sponsored athlete a signature model). This has created a unique opportunity to play with specific visual themes for each model – some of which have been in existence since the inception of the brand.

This is only a sample of the product graphics created for ON3P since 2010.

Examples of Editorial Design

Various Clients

Examples of Layout and Editorial work, 2011 – 2017

Brand Photography

ON3P Ski Co., Portland, ORE.

In lieu of the branding and design work that L/S has provided for ON3P over the years, we’ve also had the unique pleasure of being the key content provider for their marketing imagery needs.

In an industry driven by adrenaline, the need for a consistent stream of compelling action imagery is enough to keep us outside and on the road for a large chunk of the winter. Together with the athletes, we’ve roadtripped, dirtbagged, couchsurfed, hiked, skied deep powder, built huge backcountry features, and stayed up all night sessioning urban spots. The photography is intended to communicate the playful and adventurous nature of the company as well as the durability and quality of the gear. These are serious skis for serious skiers.

This is a sampling of the action photography developed for ON3P over the years, from various parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Re-Brand

Great Gorge Golf Club

The Great Gorge golf course was originally built in the early 1970s when Hugh Hefner opened the Great Gorge Playboy Club. The Great Gorge Playboy Club has changed hands many times over the years but it has always been a local favorite. The course consists of three unique George Fazio designed 9 hole courses, taking golfers through a landscape created by mining that supported the Bethlehem Steel Mill in Bethlehem, PA. There are dramatic stone embankments, ponds, and the remnants of a concrete railway trestle that golfers must navigate as they play the three 9’s.

Research into the golf club logos revealed that a great many golf courses, even those that are well-known and well-to-do, were visually quite cheap. We decided to compare the Great Gorge brand to the best-of-the-best and create something that was at once refined, but didn’t bill the course as something it isn’t.

The first round of logos was well received, but nothing quite hit the mark. Eventually, we realized that we had been granted a great asset in the history of the design of the course. We looked to the brand of Bethlehem Steel itself to develop a symbol, and then worked up some custom type for a logotype. The beauty is in the details.

As we continue to work with the brand, more work will be added. Stay tuned.

Email Marketing

Various

Wake up. Run through the morning routine. Check emails.

Email marketing will get lost in the noise of the daily grind if it doesn’t stand out. We develop and manage strategies to build your brand and drive revenue. We handle strategy, email creation, and campaign management side-by-side with our sister agency, Red Giant Growth, to ensure you’re not overlooked.

Product and Staged Food Photography

Hudson Valley Harvest

Hudson Valley Harvest strives to change the food system: to provide easy access to local, healthy food and improve the financial well-being of the farms we work with in a sustainable way. We believe in keeping food close to the source, both by keeping it local and by minimal processing. We work with our farms to provide local, traceable, transparent food of the highest quality.

We work together with our sister agency, Red Giant Growth, to show off the products and the farmers that Hudson Valley Harvest promotes and distributes throughout the East Coast.

Comprehensive Website Build

SolBe Learning

Custom Camouflage for Collaborative Product Launch

Jiberish Clothing and ON3P Ski Co.

Jiberish Clothing is a streetwear brand with strong roots in the ski industry, particularly in the newschool skiing movement. In 2013, Jiberish was looked to ON3P Ski Company to form a partnership to develop a limited edition ski and graphic that both customer bases would appreciate.

We worked with ON3P and Jiberish to develop a graphic that would reference the philosophies of both companies. The visual identity of both ON3P and Jiberish are heavily influenced by American heritage and sporting. We chose to develop a custom “duck” style camouflage, and included elements and colors that are derived from the state plant of Oregon, the Oregon Grape. After the skis were produced, the camouflage was also printed on fabric in a different colorway and used to produce a sweatshirt for the Jiberish Fall 2017 clothing line.

Branding, Graphic Design and Photography

Krass & Co.

Krass & Co. is a clothing brand that deals primarily in the preppy East Coast product space. The brand is focused on women’s activewear and athliesure / lifestyle apparel. This is a sampling of prints, graphics and embroideries created for Krass & Co. 2011 – 2016. Additionally, all product and model photography was executed by Lunar / Solar Creative.